Unite General Secretary To Meet With Ford's Bridgend Engine Plant

Len McCluskey, general secretary of union Unite, will be meeting shop stewards at Ford's Bridgend engine plant in Wales on Tuesday, 07 February, to update them on meetings aimed at securing the plant’s future with the boss of Ford Europe Jim Farley.

Mr McCluskey will tell Unite reps that, while common ground was struck on the importance of the auto industry in Wales and wider UK, talks were still ongoing about cast iron assurances over jobs at the Bridgend plant.

Praising the workers as "world class", the Unite general secretary will pledge to work with Ford and other employers to secure the future of manufacturing in Wales. He will also outline Unite’s determination to work with the Labour-led Welsh Government to make sure the Westminster government’s industrial strategy delivers for Wales and the wider UK.

Commenting ahead of the meeting, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: "The automotive industry is a vital source of decent secure jobs in Wales. Our members at Ford need assurances that their high-skilled, highly-respected jobs which are essential to the prosperity of their communities and Wales as a whole will be secure post-Brexit.

"I have been talking to Ford's European chief executive about the future of the Bridgend plant. Unite will work with Ford and all industrial employers to secure the future of jobs and skills in Wales against the many challenges they face, not least from the government's apparent determination to take Britain out of the single market."